Mali govt forces fail to lift garrison town siege

BAMAKO, March 5 (Reuters) - Malian army units trying
to resupply the remote northern garrison of Tessalit, besieged
for weeks by rebels, have been beaten back after days of heavy
fighting, rebel, army and local officials said on Monday.

Fighting over Tessalit has been fierce as the town is close
to the border with Algeria and losing it to rebels fighting for
an independent north would leave Malian government forces with
little presence in the remote border region.

"The convoy has pulled back," said a senior member of
northern Mali's Arab community, referring to three units trying
to punch their way into Tessalit, where hundreds of soldiers and
civilians are cut off from the rest of the country.

Two Malian military sources also confirmed the pull-back but
gave no casualty toll. "We are going to have to reorganise our
troops," said one of the sources, asking not to be named.

The source added that the Tuareg-led MNLA fighters had
received reinforcements from Chad, Algeria and Nigeria but did
not give further details.

The MNLA have been bolstered by heavily armed Malian Tuareg
returning from fighting alongside pro-Gaddafi forces in Libya.
The clashes have added a new layer of insecurity to a zone awash
with smugglers and plagued by fighters linked to al Qaeda.

Dozens of people have been reported killed and some 120,000
have fled their homes since the rebels launched a push south in
mid-January.

Mali's government issued a statement confirming heavy
fighting on Sunday but gave no details on the convoy's status.

It repeated charges that the MNLA rebels were fighting
alongside drug dealers, al Qaeda factions and other Islamists.
The rebels have repeatedly denied the charge.
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